After an unspecified but crucial period of rest and recovery (“the space of many days”), Yahweh instructed Nephi to go to “the mountain,” presumably to pray. Yet to give this command, Yahweh was already in communication with Nephi. Why, in essence, initiate a conversation just to tell Nephi to pick it up later in a different location?
The answer lies in the sacred nature of mountains. (See discussion accompanying 1 Nephi 11:1.) Mountains are symbolic temples in Hebrew cosmology. They considered that the mountain’s “roots” sank deep enough to reach the primordial waters, while the summit extended into the heavens. A mountain was thus an appropriate location for meeting God. Nephi understands this request and, like Moses, goes to the mountain to obtain Yahweh’s word.
Interestingly, Nephi, not Lehi, received this revelation. Nephi’s physical ability to make a ship was greater than Lehi’s, but Lehi had received the earlier revelations to send his sons to Jerusalem for the brass plates and for Ishmael’s family. He could easily have received a revelation that Nephi should build a ship. However, Yahweh gave that revelation directly to Nephi. It is becoming increasingly clear that the mantle of leadership is being transferred from Lehi to Nephi.